Page 46 of Stolen Love

She pushes at my chest. “There’s no time. She knows…”

When she stops and swallows, it’s obvious I’ve missed something here. “What does she know?”

Ivy stares at my chest with a little too much interest. “I was desperate, Rogue. You were arrested and Dizzy’s brother said he could help me remember. And the reason I didn’t tell you was because I was confused. I thought maybe I was losing my mind. But just now she told me I fell. I want to know what happened. We need to go after her.”

“Dizzy will keep.” Right now I want to know a whole lot more about what went on while I was locked up. I grip her chin and lift her gaze to mine. “Remember… as in… everything?”

“No, I don’t remember. Or maybe I do.” There’s confusion in her caramel eyes. “I don’t know what’s real and what’s not. I’ve been having these dreams… nightmares really. They could be because of everything that’s going on. But they feel so real. And then when we were in Adira’s dressing room earlier I imagined being dressed as Rapunzel and getting on my knees—”

“Real.” I clear my throat. Is she really starting to remember me? Us? All that we were to each other and all that we’ve been through. “That was real.”

“Rapunzel?” She smiles and her eyes fill with tears. She laughs. “Oh God, that was my first time giving a blow job.”

“And you were phenomenal, princess. You blew my mind.”

“Really?”

“From the very first moment.” I can’t stop my grin from widening.

Her nose wrinkles. “Why do I have this feeling that I was supposed to be a mermaid?”

“Because the first time I hit on you… while you drove me to the hospital, I asked you if—”

“I had a mermaid costume.” She covers her mouth with her hand. “You were shot. And I was a birthday party princess. You told me, but now I actually remember.”

If I have to convince her to fall in love with me every single day for the rest of our lives I will, but this… this is better. I bury my face in her shoulder as the happiness I’m feeling brims from my eyes. “You’re coming back to me.”

She clasps my face between her hands. “I’m remembering. Not all of it. But maybe…”

“In time.”

Her smile falters and disappears. “I wish that’s all I needed to remember. I wish I wasn’t having dreams about Alec.”

I hate asking her to think about him, but if they’re memories… if she can finally remember what happened that night… “What dreams about Alec?”

She shudders and hunches into her shoulders, like the very thought of those dreams makes her want to hide away. “I’m in Narnia and he’s holding a blade as he tells me the ambulance will never make it in time.”

“It’s not enough,” I say bitterly as I wrap her up tight in my arms. Though I’m more certain than ever that she didn’t hurt herself at all. And if… no, when… I get my hands on him I’m going to make him regret ever harming her.

But when it comes to taking this to the cops… If all we have is Ivy’s version of what happened that night, a glimpse of what could be argued was only a dream wouldn’t be enough. I rest my chin on the top of her head. “Tell me what Dizzy and her brother have to do with all this.”

“West is a therapist.” She returns to examining the cotton covering my chest. “I met him at Sunny, though I don’t actually remember it. Dr. Keller’s receptionist told me that much when I went to see Dr. Keller a few weeks ago.”

“Okay.”

“You were arrested and I couldn’t stand not doing anything to try and help. I was so mad that I couldn’t remember anything when what I’ve forgotten could be so damning for Alec.” Her eyes plead with me. “Enough that Nicole might actually leave us alone to protect him.”

“I’ve had that thought too,” I admit. I literally discussed kidnapping the bastard with my brothers for that exact reason.

“Dizzy said her brother could help, and I jumped on the chance to meet him. If he could bring back my memories it felt worth it. But I didn’t remember. At least not then.” She touches the back of her head. “I think I fell and knocked myself out before West could take me through the process. But since then…”

“You’re remembering?”

“Yeah.” She smiles softly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I woke up the next morning in our bed. In my pajamas. With no idea how I got there. I convinced myself it was a dream. It made sense that it was a dream.”

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